Believe in Me
by LiseDevi
Summary: Epilogue/missing scene to episode 2.18 Deathstroke.


**Title: **Believe in Me

**Rating: **T (there's one minor curse word)**  
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**Character/Pairing: **Oliver & Felicity**  
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**Disclaimer:** I do not own Arrow or the characters within this item of fiction, I am merely borrowing them and do not use them for profit.

Hi, this is my first foray into the Arrow fandom and my return to fanfiction after a long hiatus. I don't have a beta reader, so any and all mistakes are mine alone. This is a little angsty missing scene from episode 2.18 Deathstroke so there are some minor spoilers. Hope you enjoy :)

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**Believe in**** Me**

She wasn't ready for the broken look about Oliver. The defeat he so openly displays. She knew he would be lost, hurting from all that had happened over the last few weeks, but she wasn't expecting this.

She wants to wrap her arms around him but refrains. Too much has happened between them, or rather hasn't happened, for her to do just that. Dig places a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I'm here for you man. We both are. When you're ready, we'll go take this son of a bitch down."

Oliver nods and Dig leaves. Felicity hovers, not knowing what to do. Oliver looks at her, their eyes meeting. He again drops his mask. His pain and self-loathing evident. He leans back against the table.

"I screwed up. I screwed up so bad, Felicity." His voice breaks. "I practically handed my father's company to." He falters. "To Isabel. And Slade. And oh God. I screwed things up so bad with Thea." A tear rolls down his cheek.

Felicity doesn't hesitate this time, she closes the distance between them and wraps her arms around his shoulders. His head falls to the crook of her neck and he begins to sob. His hands fisting in the back of her shirt. She runs one hand through his hair and gently runs soothing circles over his back with the other. She says nothing. Knowing that he needs to let it all out. Her heart breaks for him. For the impossible situation he finds himself in. She wishes for a miracle. For some magical solution to fall into their lap. She knows that they have a long, tiring battle ahead of them. But, she has faith in Oliver. Unwavering faith in him and their success. She knows that there will be casualties, every war has them, but she knows that at the end of it all Slade will fall. They will be victorious.

Felicity doesn't know how long they stay in such an intimate position, her standing between his legs while he holds onto her sobbing. Letting all his frustration flow out. She knows he needs this to be able to move forward. To rid himself of his vulnerabilities. She's just glad that she can offer him her support. To let him know that he's not alone. She's thankful that he's accepting it. Felicity knows that underneath the hero and the stony façade he puts up, that Oliver is a broken man. A lonely man, full of so much pain. A man who doesn't believe himself worthy of happiness. Of thinking that he only brings pain to those he lets close. Felicity briefly wonders why Sara isn't here to offer Oliver this comfort. But Sara has her own shortcomings. Her own darkness that's threatening to consume her. A darkness that is growing the longer Slade menaces them. They have to stop him, sooner rather than later.

Felicity is broken out of her thoughts as Oliver sucks in a breath and pulls her closer. Her hold tightens on him and she places a gentle kiss to the top of his head. He loosens his grip on her, his hands coming to rest on her hips as he looks up at her. She lets her hands fall to his shoulders. Her throat feels clogged, the bare emotions in his eyes making her heart hurt for him. He shakes his head.

She feels as if her heart is shattering. "Oh, Oliver. We'll stop him. We will bring Slade down." She's thankful that her voice comes out so strong.

Huskily he replies, "How can you know that? After what's happened, how can you believe in me?" he sounds so broken.

Felicity places a hand over his heart, "Because I have faith in you, Oliver. In how good of a man you are. For as long as your heart beats you will always do your best to look after the ones you love. Yes, you've made mistakes. But you're human. What makes you unbeatable is that you don't stand alone. We will take Slade down together."

Oliver places his hand over hers on his chest. "I wish I had as much faith as you do."

Felicity can feel tears threaten to fall. "If you can't have faith in yourself then believe in me. Let me have the faith for all of us. In all of us." Oliver nods and Felicity leans her forehead against his. "I'm here, Oliver. Whenever you're feeling lost or hopeless. I'm here for you." She closes her eyes and focuses on trying to transfer her faith to Oliver. As if she can give him strength.

She goes to pull away, his hand on her hip tightens. "Don't. Please stay." He looks up at her again.

She nods. "Okay. For as long as you need me." She again wraps her arms around his shoulders. His head falls against her shoulder. She means everything she has said tonight. She's not going anywhere.

She lets her hand lazily play with the short hairs at the nape of his neck. He traces patterns on her back.

Keeping his head on his shoulder he starts talking, "I always looked at you as the weakest member of the team, physically. As the one person who always needed to be protected." He leans back and looks her in the eyes, she's startled by the unbridled honesty. "The truth is, Felicity, you are the strongest among us. You put us." He licks his lips and looks away briefly before returning his gaze to hers. "You put me back together every time. You selflessly give so much of yourself to this mission, to Diggle and to me. Yet you don't ask for anything in return. You're the heart and the strength of this team."

Felicity feels something change between the two of them, a shift that she can't quite figure out. She smiles at him. "A team is only as strong as its weakest link. We're going to win."

Oliver returns her smile, "I'm beginning to believe that."

She lets her hands fall back to his shoulders, "Good. It's not going to be easy but it's going to happen."

He squeezes her hips, "So any ideas where to start then partner?"

"Actually, I have this crazy idea that just might work." She squeezes his shoulders and then moves over to her computers, he trails her and places a hand on her shoulder as she brings the screens back to life. "I've been thinking about why Slade would want QC so much. The applied sciences division. He's going to use QC to manufacture more mirakuru." She launches into her plan. Oliver genuinely smiles before listening intently.

**Fin.**

**Author's note: **this just wouldn't leave me alone. There's something about Oliver & Felicity that has awakened the dormant writer within me. I am a bit rusty but I hope to hear from anyone, constructive criticism is muchly appreciated. How can one improve their craft if there's no honest feedback? But most of all hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it. :)


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